Penang Bridge

Penang Bridge
Penang Bridge; Jambatan Pulau Pinang; 檳城－威省大橋; பினாங்கு பாலம்
Official name	Penang Bridge
Carries	Motor vehicles
Crosses	South Channel, Malaysia
Locale	Penang Bridge
Maintained by	PLUS Expressway Berhad and Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB)
Designer	Government of Malaysia; Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM); United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (UEM)
Design	cable stayed bridge; box girder bridge
Total length	13.5km
Width	--
Longest span	225m
Constructed by	Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company (Korea) Ltd; United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (UEM)
Construction begin	1970s
Construction end	1982
Opened	3 August 1985
Inaugurated	14 September 1985

E36 Expressway
	Penang Bridge
Route information
	Maintained by PLUS Expressway Berhad and Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB)
Length:	13.5 km (8.4 mi)
Existed:	1970's – present
History:	Opened 14 September 1985
Major junctions
East end:	Perai Interchange
	North–South Expressway Northern Route; Jalan Perusahan Perai; Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway; Gelugor Highway
West end:	Gelugor Interchange
Location
Primary; destinations:	George Town, Perai, Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam, Permatang Pauh, Sungai Dua, Bukit Tengah
Highway system
	Highways in Malaysia; Expressways; Federal; State;

Penang Bridge (Jambatan Pulau Pinang in Malay) is a dual carriageway toll bridge connects George Town on the island of Penang and Seberang Prai on the mainland of Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula. The bridge is also linked to the North-South Expressway in Prai and Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway in Penang. It was officially opened to traffic on 14 September 1985. The total length of the bridge is 13.5 km (8.4 mi), making it the longest bridge in Malaysia as and the fourth-longest in Southeast Asia. The bridge was designed by Penang resident, Professor Chin Fung Kee, a well known civil engineer. Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB) is the concession holder which manages it but now it is a member company of PLUS Expressway Berhad.

Before 1985, transportation between the island and the mainland was solely dependent on the state-owned Penang Ferry Service that runs between Butterworth and George Town. Toll fees is only paid when heading to the island. There is no charge for leaving the island.

Currently, Penang Bridge handles 65,000 vehicles daily and has a capacity of handling 85,000 vehicles daily. It has been expanded from 4 lanes to 6 lanes to accommodate increasing traffic on the bridge. A proposal for second bridge, the Penang Second Bridge, has been approved by the Malaysian federal government and included as one of the Ninth Malaysia Plan national projects. Construction work of the new Penang Second Bridge began in November 2008, and the target completion date is year 2013.

Recently, Penang Bridge was assigned with the route number .

Route background [edit]

The Kilometre Zero of the expressway starts at Perai Interchange of the Tun Hussein Onn Highway.

History [edit]

Chronology [edit]

Date	Event
Early 1970s	The idea to build a bridge linking Seberang Perai to Penang Island was suggested by the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia's Tun Abdul Razak and the 2nd Chief Minister of Penang's Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.
Late 1970s	Penang Bridge was planned during the term of 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia's Tun Hussein Onn.
23 July 1981	Works Minister of Malaysia's Dato Seri Samy Vellu announced that Penang Bridge, Penang would be constructed using the cable-stayed concrete girder of the San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge instead of the steel-tied arch in the style of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
1982	Construction of Penang Bridge officially began.
3 August 1985	Official opening of Penang Bridge by the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia's Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad.
14 September 1985	Penang Bridge is officially opened to traffic.

Current developments [edit]

Penang Bridge Widening Project [edit]

When the bridge was originally constructed, the central span had six lanes, while the rest of the bridge had four lanes. There was an ongoing project to have the entire bridge widened to six lanes. Work on the project began on January 2008 and was completed in late 2009.

Penang Bridge Widening Project on YouTube

Bridge specifications^[1] [edit]

Night view of Penang Bridge.

Penang Bridge main span viewed from the deck. Note that the pairs of towers across the deck are not connected above deck level, unlike in many other cable-stayed or suspension bridges with 2 planes of cables.

Overall Length: 13.5 km (8.4 mi)
Length Over Water: 8.4 km (5.2 mi)
Penang Island Viaduct & Approach: 1.5 km (0.93 mi)
Prai Approach: 3.6 km (2.2 mi)
Carriageway: 3 lanes per carriageway
Height of Tower Above Water: 101.5 m
Height of Bridge Above Water: 33 m
Main Span: 225 m
End Span: 107.5 m
Other Span: 40 m
Speed limit: 80 km/h
Maximum Gradient: 3.0%

Features [edit]

The bridge has an SOS emergency feature and traffic CCTV. The Gelugor Complex Interchange is the largest highway interchange in Malaysia. The bridge has a Tenaga Nasional TNB's 132kV power cable.

Tolls [edit]

Overview [edit]

Since 1985, Penang Bridge has been a tolled bridge. Fees are charged one way, when entering the bridge from the mainland and traveling towards Penang Island. There are no fees imposed for mainland-bound motorists coming from the island. Since 1994, the tolls have been collected by a private concession company, Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd, which has become a member company of PLUS Expressway Berhad.

Toll rates [edit]

Class	Type of vehicles	Rate (in Malaysian Ringgit (RM))
1	Motorcycles	RM 1.40
2	Motorcycles with sidecars, cars including station wagons and commercial vehicles on three wheels	RM 7.00
3	Lorries and vans with two axles and four wheels	RM 12.00
	Buses with two axles and four wheels	RM 6.00
4	Lorries, vans and buses with two axles and five or six wheels	RM 25.00
	Buses with two axles and five or six wheels	RM 12.50
5	Vehicles with three axles	RM 45.00
	Buses with three axles	RM 22.50
6	Vehicles with four axles	RM 60.00
7	Vehicles with five and more axles	RM 75.00

Note: Touch 'n Go is also available for light vehicles and motorcycles. The Smart TAG lane is for light vehicles only. In order to increase the use of the more efficient electronic payment system, any user with a Touch 'n Go card (and Smart TAG) issued from the Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd office will receive a 20% discount on the Penang Bridge toll.

List of Interchanges [edit]

This is a list of interchanges of Penang Bridge.

Tun Hussein Onn Highway side [edit]

km	Exit	Interchange	To	Remarks
			AH2 AH2 NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY NORTHERN ROUTE NORTH Alor Setar Permatang Pauh Seberang Jaya
AH2 AH2 NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY NORTHERN ROUTE
AH2 AH2 PENANG BRIDGE (TUN HUSSEIN ONN HIGHWAY)
0		PERAI INTERCHANGE	NORTHWEST BUTTERWORTH OUTER RING ROAD Perai Butterworth SOUTHEAST BUTTERWORTH-KULIM HIGHWAY Bukit Mertajam	Parcelo cloverleaf interchange
		Railway crossing bridge
	EXIT 3601A EXIT 3601B	PENANG BRIDGE INTERCHANGE	EXIT 3601A AH2 AH2 NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY NORTHERN ROUTE SOUTH Kuala Lumpur Ipoh Bukit Tambun EXIT 3601B JALAN PERUSAHAAN PERAI NORTHWEST Perai Industrial Area SOUTHEAST Juru	EXIT 3601A Stacked expressway interchange EXIT 3601B Cloverleaf interchange
AH2 AH2 PENANG BRIDGE (TUN HUSSEIN ONN HIGHWAY)
PENANG BRIDGE

Bridge side [edit]

km	Exit	Interchange	To	Remarks
		U-Turn	U-TURN TUN HUSSEIN ONN HIGHWAY Perai Butterworth TnG TAG i Customer Service Centre
Perai toll plaza (PLAZA A) (Enter bridge only) PBSB TAG TnG TnG POS RM (Cash) Opened toll system Pay toll
Perai toll plaza (PLAZA B) (Enter bridge only) PBSB TAG TnG TnG POS RM (Cash) Opened toll system Pay toll
		P Perai toll plaza PBSB	TnG TAG i Customer Service Centre	Enter bridge only
		U-Turn	U-TURN PENANG BRIDGE George Town Bayan Lepas TnG TAG i Customer Service Centre
		Penang Bridge 13.5 kilometres		Start/End of Bridge Six lane carriageway
2		Penang Bridge
2.3
4		Penang Bridge
4.5		Penang Bridge
5		Penang Bridge
5.1 - 5.9		Penang Bridge		Central span Cable stayed bridge
6		Penang Bridge
6.5		Penang Bridge
7		Penang Bridge
		Penang Bridge 13.5 kilometres		Start/End of Bridge Six lane carriageway
	EXIT 3602A EXIT 3602B EXIT 3602C	GELUGOR-PENANG BRIDGE INTERCHANGE	EXIT 3602B WEST GELUGOR HIGHWAY Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) Regional Office Jelutong Gelugor Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) TUN DR LIM CHONG EU EXPRESSWAY (BAYAN LEPAS EXPRESSWAY) EXIT 3602C NORTH George Town / Weld Quay Air Itam Batu Feringgi EXIT 3602A SOUTH Batu Maung Bayan Lepas Industrial Area Penang International Airport Jerejak Island (Jetty)	Stacked expressway interchange

EXIT 3602B Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) interchange side [edit]

km	Exit	Interchange	To	Remarks
		Malaysian Highway Authority Northern Regional Office	Malaysian Highway Authority Northern Regional Office
	EXIT 3602B WEST	UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA INTERCHANGE	GELUGOR HIGHWAY NORTH George Town City Centre Jelutong Gelugor Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) SOUTH Balik Pulau Bayan Lepas Penang International Airport	Trumpet interchange

EXIT 3602C Jalan Tunku Kudin interchange side [edit]

km	Exit	Interchange	To	Remarks
		Tesco Penang
	EXIT 3602C NORTH	JALAN TUNKU KUDIN INTERCHANGE	WEST P19 PENANG MIDDLE RING ROAD JALAN TENGKU KUDIN Batu Feringgi Tanjung Bungah Air Itam	Interchange from/to Penang Bridge and Bayan Lepas only
PENANG BRIDGE ( TUN DR LIM CHONG EU EXPRESSWAY) (BAYAN LEPAS EXPRESSWAY) PBSB border limit
TUN DR LIM CHONG EU EXPRESSWAY (JELUTONG EXPRESSWAY) JKR and MPPP border limit
			NORTH TUN DR LIM CHONG EU EXPRESSWAY (JELUTONG EXPRESSWAY) George Town / Weld Quay Komtar Ferry Sungai Pinang

Interesting facts [edit]

Penang Bridge at sunrise

Penang Bridge toll plaza (Prai) is the first toll plaza in Malaysia to introduce toll payment by Contactless Smart Card.
Penang Bridge toll plaza (Prai) is the first toll plaza in Malaysia with smart card payment for all classes of vehicles.
After construction works of Penang Bridge were completed in 1985, Penang Island became the first island in Malaysia to be connected to the mainland through land transport.

Commemorative Events [edit]

The Penang Bridge Commemorative Postage Stamps [edit]

The Commemorative Postage Stamps to mark the opening of the Penang Bridge on 1985 was issued by then the Malaysian Postal Services Department (now Pos Malaysia) on 15 September 1985.[1] The denominations for these stamps were 20 cents, 40 cents, and RM 1.00.

Major events [edit]

Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon [edit]

Penang Bridge

The Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon has been held every year since 1985.

Participants run over the longest bridge in Malaysia, Penang Bridge, and along a scenic coastal highway. This is the only time of the year when the bridge is closed for several hours. The biggest run in the country incorporates a marathon, a half-marathon and a quarter-marathon. The run has been jointly organised by the Penang Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang) and Malaysian Highway Authority.

For more information, see the Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon website.